Racial and Ethnic Matter - Assignment Example

The Jewish community, especially the newspapers, was active in voicing out their concerns about the inequalities exhibited in major institutions and establishments in the country such as the government, public schools, universities, and business establishments. For instance, in one of the video clips, Jewish Americans were very active in the pursuit against child labor in factories all over the country. The most significant involvement and contribution of Jewish – Americans in the history of the United States is supporting the civil rights movement in the 1960s and ensuring that political and social justice will be attained by minorities.

I was fascinated how the Jews and African - Americans fought hand in hand to achieve the sense of equality and freedom for all citizens of America. From the video, I learned how Jewish lawyers defended the minorities during the civil rights movement by asserting the true spirit of the American constitution and democracy. In my view, these actions by Jewish – Americans were reflective on the experiences they have endured back in Europe. Many of them were ostracized and deprived of the basic rights enjoyed by a citizen of the states.

When Jews came to America, they must have thought about rebuilding their lives in a democratic society. However, most of them still faced the anti-Semitist sentiments in the major institutions around the country. For instance, the so-called Jew Bill in Maryland was a sheer discrimination of their rights as citizens of the United States. These challenges upon their migration to America compelled the Jews to stand up for the rights of the migrants and minority population. Website 2 - Exploring Japanese American Internment As a Japanese citizen, I feel strongly for the treatment that my countrymen received while living in America during the Second World War.

While watching the video clips, I cannot help but be saddened about the plight of Japanese American families whose lives were disrupted due to the profound hate against my countrymen during the wartime period. Putting myself into the shoes of these innocent children, I can imagine the terrible ordeal they must have went through, having to face the hostility of the American public during the war. As a Japanese citizen, I feel the need to reiterate that what transpired during the war does not reflect to the overall sentiment of the Japanese populace.

The problem that I see with discrimination is that it persists overtime even though the clash between two cultural groups has already been resolved. I am talking about the stereotyping of Asians which began in the mid-1800s. As soon as the Second World War broke out, the discrimination against Asians was at its peak. Thinking about it now, it is almost a disbelief that the incarceration of Japanese Americans happened in the history of America, more so that racist laws were passed just so their rights would be denied.

I cannot imagine how the government was able to implement outright discrimination by barring Japanese - Americans from owning a land, attaining education, landing a suitable job and stripping them the numerous rights accorded to every American. Like African – Americans and other minority groups were excluded from participating in the political and social undertakings of an American citizen. Likewise, I am in disbelief how Japanese Americans were detained and deported without proper trials. It was